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Interview with the Insurance Authority: Growing in lure as a Hub

Since the Insurance Authority (IA) took over the statutory functions of the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) to regulate insurers on 26 June 2017, its key priorities have been to look at the risk management of insurers and to position Hong Kong as an inward reinsurance and risk management hub for the Mainland and the Belt and Road economies, as well as a regional insurance hub to facilitate Mainland insurance groups to go regional and global. In this exclusive interview with Asia Insurance Review, Mr John Leung, CEO of the IA, discusses regulatory priorities, the influence of the mainland’s business and its technology push.

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HKFI: Supporting the industry through a raft of regulatory changes

With the establishment of a new independent regulator in the form of the Insurance Authority (IA), the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI) has also repositioned itself and set out its priorities in the mid and long term. HKFI Chairman Stuart Harrison shares with us its plans.

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Mainland's demand to boost both life and general insurance

China is a key factor for both the life and general insurance sectors in Hong Kong as the city stands to benefit from Mainland’s Belt & Road Initiative. The new independent Insurance Authority (IA) has also been busy, with several plans for the sector in the pipeline.

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Life insurance continues to soar

Life insurance in Hong Kong continues to be prosperous. Office premiums for in-force business recorded a growth of 39.8% y-o-y in 2016 and amounted to HK$325.4 billion (US$46.4 billion) for the first three quarters of 2017, an 11.6% increase over the corresponding period in 2016. We speak to a few life insurers for an update of this continuing vibrant sector.

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General insurance stagnant, but buoyed by Mainland infrastructure projects

The general insurance market in Hong Kong is still relatively stagnant compared to the long-term business. In 2016, gross premiums of general business recorded a y-o-y decrease of 1% to HK$45.5 billion (US$5.8 billion). While a growth of 5.8% was recorded for the first three quarters of 2017, the growth for direct business was only 2.8%.

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Reinsurance perspective: China and regulatory priorities

Having ushered in somewhat harder rates at the 1/1 renewals due to Nat CATs, opportunities on the Mainland and regulatory changes figure among the key issues for this year. We speak to a few reinsurance players in Hong Kong about their thoughts on the market.

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